‘Please do come to my birthday party. Rishav.’; read the invitation to my daughter which her classmate had sent her. I was pleased to take her out, all jazzed up with the idea that next month, as she turns three, even she can have a bash with her friends.
Honestly, that visit to Rishav’s celebration, put an end to my confusion as to how I should plan my darling’s upcoming birthday. I decided NOT TO celebrate it, atleast not the way most of us define celebration.
The party was organized at one of the most renowned places with a nice play pen for the little ones, with the widest choice of food for children that they can even think of and the most delicious cake one can ask for. They had huge number of games, grand decoration, return gifts and extraordinary invitations.
Everything was delightful but the birthday boy. He was only cranky to see massive number of new faces around and eventually too tired to cut the cake (his most awaited event of the day), waiting for all his loving guests to arrive. Play pen? Did he enjoy it? I don’t think he even got time to see it. And talk about the mouth watering delicacies, he was least concerned to even taste them.
I understand all parents are eager to celebrate their child’s first birthday. It’s as if they wish to announce to the world that it was this day they were endowed upon the honour of being called mom-dad and that their little happiness that was gifted to them exactly a year back has grown so big and adorable. So, they whoop it up; Spend money , time and energy; make it anything but comfortable for the babe-in-arms. What’s also bothering is how parents dress them up in sophisticated outfits only to brag how attractive their child can look
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Some argue that it’s this way that their child shall learn to socialize and get the exposure to mingle with loads of people. Let me ask you how many of us have had such birthday get-togethers when we were so young? Not many but still we are perfectly comfortable being social. Aren’t we?
My point is that such get-togethers for such tiny babies is too early to worry about their exposure to the outer world. They are already coping up with a lot to step into an independent childhood from being a toddler. Interestingly, please recognize that ‘Your time’ is in fact the ideal gift for your child. Taking him out for a nice playground where you can spend more time together with your undivided attention would make him feel more loved and special than any party which takes away all your mind leaving you drained out, with almost no time for the two of you.
I guess most of us haven’t given it a good thought. We sometimes tend to follow the league. Reason it out like I did and on your tot’s next birthday rejoice In an environment where he is happy and cheerful, in clothes, in which he can smile and cut the cake at a time which does not tire or annoy him.
